Wellness is a large topic that can cover anything from fitness to cookbooks to body positivity to so much more. The general overarching theme is usually centered on improving your wellbeing through health or fitness or general wellness. While we at the Library aren’t doctors and can’t recommend one plan over the other, we have gathered a list of new wellness books below that you may find interesting.
As of this writing, all of these titles are owned by the Davenport Public Library. Descriptions are provided by the publishers.
Change Your Brain, Change Your Pain: Breaking the Doom Loop to Heal Chronic Physical and Emotional Pain by Daniel G Amen
In the United States alone, one in five adults experiences chronic pain. For too long, when a doctor couldn’t find the source of frequent pain, the patient was dismissively told “it’s all in your head.” Today, we know that our somatic responses to trauma, anxiety, and depression create real suffering, and that physical pain can lead to trauma, anxiety, and depression. Dr. Daniel Amen calls this “the doom loop”—the dance between physical and emotional pain. These doom loops interfere with our ability to live our lives. But we can shift the doom loop into a healing loop, and in this vital book, he shows us how.
Dr. Amen has been researching a new brain-based approach to pain. In Change Your Brain, Change Your Pain he draws on those studies to reveal:
- Pain producing versus pain soothing thought patterns
- Muscle tension and trauma vs calmness and clarity
- The use of medical and nutraceuticals to help calm the pathways
- The effects of diet, exercise, meditation, breath to help pain
Our current approach to understanding and treating physical and emotional pain is misguided. Change Your Brain, Change Your Pain offers a healthier way, one that involves less medication, less surgery, and better outcomes. Just like the human heart, the human brain is an organ, and that to be free of emotional or physical pain, it is critical to get the brain as healthy as it can be—not just physically, but emotionally, psychologically, and spiritually, as well. – Harper
The Complete Anti-Inflammatory Cookbook: Optimize Health, Boost Your Immune System, Promote Longevity by America’s Test Kitchen
426 Easy and Delicious Dietician-Backed Recipes
Eating to help lessen chronic inflammation is something anyone can embrace to optimize long-term health and strengthen the body’s defenses against many chronic illnesses, from cardiovascular disease to diabetes. Whether you’re looking to keep inflammation at bay or reduce existing symptoms, this collection of recipes, complete with nutritional info, dairy- and gluten-free options, and meal prep tips is the only cookbook you need to embark on this diet shift. For every meal of the day, you’ll find scrumptious dishes—from frittatas and fish tacos to stir-fries and drinks—chock-full of anti-inflammatory powerhouses like whole grains, beneficial fats, lean proteins, and a rainbow of vegetables. – America’s Test Kitchen
Eat to Thrive During Menopause: Managing Your Symptoms with Nourishing Foods by Jenn Salib Huber
A new groundbreaking, science-based nutrition program that reduces distressing symptoms of perimenopause and menopause, from a leading registered dietitian and naturopathic doctor. Including 55 recipes for nourishing dishes.
Using research-based information about nutrition, Jenn Salib Huber guides millions of women on an integrative path to alleviate their perimenopause and menopause symptoms. Night sweats, hot flashes, brain fog, and more can be managed with foods found in your own kitchen. She lays out the key ingredients that can support women in midlife and follows it with recipes that include the five key ingredients to help them thrive: Powerful soy and phytoestrogens, protein, calcium, omega-3 fats, and fiber.
These ingredients are the featured players in mouthwatering recipes, such as:
- Ginger Squash Red Lentil Soup—good for protein and fiber
- Spinach and Mozzarella Pita Pizza—a great source of calcium
- Sweet Potato Salmon Cakes—filled with protein, calcium, and omega-3s
- No Bake Peanut Butter Chocolate Tofu Pie for dessert—for soy and phytoestrogens
Using an intuitive-eating approach, Eat to Thrive During Menopause shows how nutrition for menopause health can be not only nourishing and satisfying, but healing and restorative too. – Workman Publishing Company
Losing the Weight Loss Meds: A 10-Week Playbook for Stopping GLP-1 Medications Without Regaining the Weight by Holly R Wyatt
Most people regain weight after weight loss medications. You don’t have to.
New weight loss medications like Ozempic®, Wegovy®, Mounjaro®, and Zepbound® (known as GLP-1s) can help you lose weight, but research shows that without a plan, the weight almost always comes back if the prescription ends. Losing the Weight Loss Meds is the first playbook designed specifically to help you transition off medication — and keep your hard-earned success for life.
Written by leading obesity experts Dr. Holly R. Wyatt and Dr. James O. Hill, Losing the Weight Loss Meds lays out a science- backed, 10-week program to replace medication with the power of food, physical activity, and mindstate. You’ll discover how to:
- Reset your appetite naturally with smart food strategies
- Use physical activity to restore and optimize metabolism
- Strengthen your mindstate to build resilience against cravings and setbacks
- Catch early signs of weight regain and stop it before it snowballs
- Create routines and environments that make success easier to sustain
This isn’t another quick-fix diet. It’s a practical guide for the moment millions of people now face: life after GLP-1s.
Whether you’re preparing to stop medication now or later, or just beginning your weight loss journey, this playbook equips you with the tools to protect your progress and fully live the life you’ve worked so hard to create. – BenBella Books
The Protein Advantage: High-Protein, Low-Carb Recipes that Burn Fat, Build Muscle, and Restore Metabolism by Carolyn Ketchum
The Protein Advantage Cookbook is the new template for low-carb eating, filled with the latest science and 100 recipes to help you meet your weight loss, body composition, and health goals.
Authored by best-selling cookbook author, Carolyn Ketchum, The Protein Advantage Cookbook includes step-by-step recipes with full-color photos, the latest research on high-protein, low-carbohydrate eating, and tips and tricks for building your high-protein, low-carbohydrate pantry.
For years, we’ve followed the traditional ketogenic diet formula: high fat, moderate protein, and very low carbs. And it worked—individuals saw the benefits of shifting from being sugar burners to fat burners. However, new science is showing that a low carbohydrate diet with higher protein ratios burns more stored fat and preserves and builds more lean muscle tissue. Recent research also suggests that a large percentage of adults are not consuming enough protein to maintain healthy bodies into middle age and beyond. And numerous experts agree that the RDA or protein for adults over age 50 is too low. High protein, low-carb diets are no longer the purview of body builders and athletes. It is a vital requirement for our health and longevity. – Fair Winds Press
Simple Meal Solutions for Insulin Resistance: 75 Recipes to Improve Insulin Resistance and Support Stable Blood Sugar by Megan Koehn
Transform your health with simple, nutritious recipes to help manage your insulin resistance.
More than 40% of Americans suffer from insulin resistance, a serious metabolic condition linked to diabetes, cardiovascular disease, PCOS, and more. Yet it is possible to manage or even improve insulin resistance—and it doesn’t need to be complicated or time-consuming. If you want to balance your blood sugar and improve your metabolic health while maintaining your busy lifestyle, finding quick, easy, and satisfying recipes tailored to your needs is crucial.
And that’s where this cookbook has you covered. Simple Meal Solutions for Insulin Resistance is your go-to cookbook for effortlessly balancing blood sugar levels while indulging in mouthwatering meals. This essential guide features 75 recipes that can be prepared in 10, 15, 20, or 30 minutes, making healthy eating both achievable and enjoyable. From breakfast to dinner, plus a special chapter on snacks and treats, each recipe is optimally designed to use nutrition to help maintain balanced blood sugar, supporting your journey to better health. – Fair Winds Press
Skinnytaste. High Protein: 100 Healthy, Simple Recipes to Fuel Your Day by Gina Homolka with Heather K Jones
Gina Homolka, founder of the longstanding go-to healthy eating blog Skinnytaste, is an expert at creating super-simple, weeknight friendly, flavor-packed recipes that meet all your dietary needs, and in Skinnytaste High Protein, she delivers on that promise with 100 high-protein meals. Whether you’re looking for creative ways to incorporate more protein into your diet, go-to recipes to jazz up your favorite proteins, or ideas for nutritionally balanced meals that will keep you satiated, Gina has you covered. Each recipe packs at least thirty grams of protein per serving (including options for vegetarian, dairy-free, and gluten-free eaters) and there are plenty of one-pot, meal-prep friendly, and streamlined recipes for every meal of the day.
Start your day with a Mango-Blueberry Smoothie or Chicken Chorizo Breakfast Tacos. Turn hearty proteins into a complete meal with Grilled Chicken Thighs and Charred Corn Summer Salad, Sheet Pan Tajin Salmon Fish Tacos, and Seared Steaks with Dijon-Mushroom Sauce and Roasted Asparagus. Gina also offers protein-boosted versions of classics like a Monte Cristo Omelet Sandwich or PB+J Breakfast Crepes. And if you need a midday protein boost, prep a Spicy Salmon Roll or Chicken Avocado Salad Chip Dip.
With nutritional information included for each recipe and recipes labeled for gluten-free and dairy-free ingredients, Skinnytaste High Protein will be your go-to resource for nutritious meals that pack a protein punch. – Clarkson Potter
When Women Get Sick: An Empowering Approach for Getting the Support You Need by Rebecca Bloom
Giving women the tools to navigate a healthcare system not built for them.
More than twenty-five years ago, Rebecca Bloom left her post as an employee benefits and compensation lawyer at one of the most well-known New York City law firms to pursue her passion for women’s health advocacy. Drawing on her expertise in the complex rules that govern employers, insurers, and medical providers–as well as the dynamics between these stakeholders–Bloom has spent decades empowering women to confidently integrate the information and focus fully on recovery and wellness.
In When Women Get Sick Bloom offers much-needed insight to women and their supporters, diving into essential topics such as building support networks, taming the insurance beast, communicating with doctors, and staying mindful. She exposes the way the healthcare industrial complex disadvantages women, and she empowers them to find the support they need.
Using women’s stories and Bloom’s own experience in the trenches, this book guides readers with examples, questions, checklists, useful information, and tips. There’s enough stress and fear surrounding cancer and other serious illnesses. Bloom gives women tools to make the best decisions for them in all areas of their healthcare journey. – Broadleaf Books
